Mitsu Grandis' MIVEC Engine

[woodfire]

Because my family is in the lookout for a decent family mover, my wife & kid took a look-see of the Mitsu Grandis in diamond motors. Overall, they were impressed with what they saw.

So yesterday, I took time to eyeball the grandis and was generally satisfied despite my misgivings about its price, spaciousnes in the third seat row and the dashboard design.

After the sales personnel started his spirited sales pitch on the MIVEC magic tickled my curiosity, I requested to test drive the unit.

After going through the usual test pace, I started to have some questions about this MIVEC magic. I "personally" found the engine performance a tad bit too slow So frankly, I dunno about this MIVEC thing Mitsu is claiming.

Again, I may be jaded. Besides, our requirement is a people mover rather than a performance beast. But... because of the price, it would be sweet to have the engine performance angle in the equation. Dont get me wrong though, the engine may be sufficiently capable but because of the overall pricing level, I expected something better than how it actually performed.


Just my .02 cents.

Btw, any feedback on Grandis owners will be highly appreciated!

[niky]

Well, depends on what you're comparing it to. Older MIVEC engines were like Honda VTEC... all high end, no low-down power. I don't know about this one. HOW did it feel sluggish? Down low in the rev range, or at top-end? Bear in mind that the Grandis is a heavy car, and that performance comparable to a 1.3 or a 1.6 AT sedan is "spirited" in terms of vans.

[woodfire]

... felt lacking in the low end. Crusing speed is a-ok and smooth once you get there. won't there be a problem in climbing steep slopes like the road to Baguio? I also feel that over-taking would need a fair amount of preparation.

Like I said, for the price mitsu is asking, I just feel that a tad more power/torque would help

[woodfire]

Together with my family, we road tested the GRANDIS again last Saturday. Thanks to Diamond Motors Libis, we were allowed to comprehensively road test the vehicle (w/c took us almost 45 mins. on the road around the area). My driver and I took turns in the road test.

As a result of this more meaningful test, I take back my previous statement that the MIVEC engine is slow!

The engine is more than sufficient to pull the heavy body of the Grandis. I particularly like their version of the sportronic mode/invecsII tranny. The interior is a-ok but you really need to meticulously calibrate the seating adjustments.

Because of the favorable results last Saturday, my family decided on the Grandis (versus Previa, Starex, Explorer) already.

Btw, thanks to the expert opinions of Auto_Xer and Ernie Lorenzo (of ERL and Top Gear Mag).

[kimpOy]

congrats on your new sparkling grandis sir dindo, i myself is shopping for a family mover...my kids are growing up fast...

[boosted]

Had a chance to drive the grandis for close to two months and here are my observations:

consumption: 6-7.5 kms./liter city, 11kms./liter highway (relaxed driving)
performance: like the VTEC you have to rev it passed the switchover point of 3600rpm to feel the power of the high speed cam lobe kick in. The tiptronic tranny might come in handy if you desire more control

ride: very comfortable even with 16s as standard wheel size

Congratulations on your purchase

[niky]

Congrats on the purchase. It's pretty nice for a van, and very suave. :D

[nugundam93]

congratulations sir woodfire! ambait naman ng mitsu libis, a 45min test drive. :D

[woodfire]

congratulations sir woodfire! ambait naman ng mitsu libis, a 45min test drive. :D

I guess they really have to go the extra mile! Naiwanan na sila ng Toyota and Honda in terms of sales. Plus, the Mitsu global image is really down.

To be fair, ok naman ang Diamond Motors. Our pajero, and strada were bought there too.

[Blackraven]

Congrats to your purchase of the Mitsubishi Grandis 2.4 MIVEC.

It was indeed an excellent choice